SIL Language Technology

Mingzat

About

Lepcha script is used by the Lepcha language of South Asia. This script has been in Unicode since Unicode 5.1.

Mingzat is a Unicode font based on Jason Glavy’s JG Lepcha custom-encoded font. With his generous permission we have used his design and released the font under the SIL Open Font License (OFL). Most Windows applications provide basic Unicode support. However, because Lepcha is an Indic script, it requires reordering and at this time there is little support for Lepcha on computers. See section on rendering below for more details.

The name “Mingzat” means “treasure of letters” in the Lepcha language.

Supported character ranges

Unicode block

Mingzat support

Lepcha (complete)

U+1C00..U+1C4F

Codepage 1252 (Western)¹

✓

A selection of characters from various other Unicode blocks is included in Mingzat. A utility such as SIL ViewGlyph can be used to examine the exact repertoire of this font.

¹Inclusion of basic Latin repertoire is provided as a convenience, e.g., for use in menus or for displaying markup in text files. These fonts are not intended for extensive Latin script use.

Rendering Issues

Lepcha is a complex Indic script which requires reordering. At this time, there is little (or no) support for the Lepcha script in commercial rendering systems.

Mingzat follows the Unicode syllable order: C(.)(R)(Y)(V)(F)(^). This translates into Consonant (C) followed by optional nukta (.), followed by optional Ra (R), followed by optional Ya (Y), followed by optional dependent Vowel (V), followed by optional Final consonant sign (F), followed by optional Ran (^). If this structure is followed, and your application supports proper rendering, the font will display them in the correct order. Sample nonsense syllable:

Mingzat is designed to work with Graphite or OpenType advanced font technologies. To take advantage of the advanced typographic capabilities of this font, you must be using applications that provide an adequate level of support for Graphite or OpenType.

Data Conversion

A compiled and uncompiled TECkit conversion table can be downloaded which maps data using the JG Lepcha font to Unicode. This map can be used with either TECkit and/or SILConverters 4.0. It has been minimally tested.

Keyboarding

Mingzat can be used with any Unicode Lepcha keyboarding program. The Lepcha (SIL) Unicode keyboard for MacOS and Windows is based on a phonetic representation of the script.

Support

As these fonts and utilities are distributed at no cost, we are unable to provide a commercial level of personal technical support. We will, however, try to resolve problems that are reported to us.

We do hope that you will report problems so they can be addressed in future releases. Even if you are not having any specific problems, but have an idea on how this system could be improved, we want to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Please note that these fonts are intended for use by experienced computer users. Installing and using these fonts is not a trivial matter. The most effective technical support is usually provided by an experienced computer user who can personally sit down with you at your computer to troubleshoot the problem.

Contact

General troubleshooting information, including frequently asked questions, can be found in the documentation. Additional information is also available on the general Font FAQ page. If that fails to answer your question, send an email via this contact form.

Before requesting technical support, please:

Carefully read all the documentation provided with the font and on this site.